Stronger protection for intellectual property rights in the Nordics
The panel consisted of Tomas Eriksson, SHL; Marcus Pettersson, Swedish Tax Agency; Lubna Jaffery, Norway’s Minister of Culture and Equality; Nima Sanandaji, ECEPR; Sara Lindbäck, Rights Alliance (Rättighetsalliansen); Synnøve Hørsdal, Maipo Film; and Nicky Valbjørn Trebbien, Koda.
A side event organised in connection with the committee meeting took a closer look at intellectual property rights. The issue has previously been brought to the foreground by committee member Lars Mejern Larsson posing five written questions to the Nordic governments.
The report Intellectual Property, Jobs & Prosperity in the Nordic Region 2026 Index was presented during the event, which was organised in collaboration between the committee and Rights Alliance, a Swedish industry organisation working to combat cybercrime.
The report highlights the importance of intellectual property rights for innovation, growth, and competitiveness in the Nordics. It demonstrates that the infringement of intellectual property rights leads to economic losses and increased uncertainty, especially for small and growing companies. It also underlines that piracy and counterfeiting both risk hampering both entrepreneurship and long-term economic development in the region.
CEO of ECEPR and author of the report, Nima Sanandaji, has been investigating intellectual property rights for 10 years and states that there is a clear need for reform and additional resources in order to combat the criminal economy that is based on infringement of intellectual property rights.
As we’ve heard today, great interests are at stake. It’s an obvious legal issue that copyright holders are not only protected by law, and it’s vital that we demonstrate clearly that we’re on the side of copyright holders, and that infringing copyright-protected material has consequences.
Today’s discussions hopefully mark the start of ongoing dialogue and deeper co-operation on this key issue at the Nordic level.
The presentation was followed by a panel discussion involving Norway’s Minister for Culture and Equality, Lubna Jaffery, representatives from the Nordic tax authorities, as well as sport, film, and music industry organisations. The conversation raised several current challenges, including illegal IPTV, links between organised crime and sport, as well as the rapid development in artificial intelligence.
There was broad agreement that stronger intellectual property protection and closer Nordic co-operation are essential to overcoming challenges, while innovation and growth in the region need to be promoted.
